1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to structural members, and more particularly, to metal studs.
2. Description of the Related Art
Metal studs and framing members have been used in the areas of commercial and residential construction for many years. Metal studs offer a number of advantages over traditional building materials, such as wood. For instance, metal studs can be manufactured to have strict dimensional tolerances, which increase consistency and accuracy during construction of a structure. Moreover, metal studs provide dramatically improved design flexibility due to the variety of available sizes and thicknesses and variations of metal materials that can be used. Moreover, metal studs have inherent strength-to-weight ratio which allows them to span longer distances and better resist forces such as bending moments.
Although metal studs exhibit these and numerous other qualities, there are some challenges associated with their manufacture and use in construction. For instance, existing designs typically sacrifice strength over weight of the stud. Conventional metal studs are often formed from one piece of metal and weigh about 0.77 pounds per foot, or 6.2 pounds per eight foot stud having dimensions of 3⅝ inch deep by 1¼ inch flange of 22 gauge.
Furthermore, manufacturing efficiency considerations can play a large role in the design of a metal stud because additional manufacturing operations can quickly increase the cost of each stud, which results in an unmarketable metal stud. Thus, the uniform design of existing metal studs often employ more material than is necessary for a given strength.